Train Rides at Moscow Station Cost Squat

The deal is meant to promote the upcoming Winter Games in Sochi.

Olympic champion gymnasts Yelena Zamolodchikova squats in front of a vending machine that sells the subway tickets for squats instead of money during the machine's presentation at the Vystavochaya metro station in western Moscow, on November 8, 2013.

Moscow city officials have come up with an unusual way to energize people over the upcoming Winter Games in Sochi.

Passengers can get a free ride at a city metro station by performing 30 squats before entering the ticket barrier rather than paying the normal fee of 30 rubles (about 92 cents), according to USA Today. The idea is that each squat is worth one ruble.

A machine branded with the Olympic logo that sits next to electronic ticket vending machines counts each squat.

The promotion is meant promote fitness and sports three months before the Olympics begin in Sochi, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“We wanted to show that the Olympic Games is not just an international competition that people watch on TV, but that it is also about getting everyone involved in a sporting lifestyle,” Alexander Zhukov, president of the Russian Olympic Committee, was quoted by state-run news wire RIA-Novosti as saying, according to WSJ.

The free rides will be on offer for a month, USA Today reported. The Olympic Games are set to kick off on February 7, 2014.